From the Mind of SlimKirby

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

First off, I do want to quickly apologize for not making my May 2011 post like I said I was going to do, but there were some things that came up, and I just didn't have the time to do it. I was definitely thinking about it though, so I didn't forget entirely, but when it came down to the final few days of May, I just couldn't fit it into my schedule. But now that E3 is over, I am going to make good on this promise and give you my thoughts and impressions, mostly for the Nintendo stuff. =P

But I did not only watch the Nintendo stuff this time. In past years, I mostly just read up on what Sony and Microsoft did, but this year I actually sat down and watched their conferences as well. I'm obviously not going to go to in-depth with this, because this blog is affiliated with The Blargg Pit, which is Nintendo-based, so my focus will mostly be on the Big N. However, Sony and Microsoft are competitors though, so it may not be a bad thing to take a gander at what the opposition is up to.

Microsoft: Ok, regardless of what console's side you are on, and whether you are a fan, a fanboy, or just neutral across all levels of gaming; I think the one thing we can all agree on (and if you don't, there is obviously some ignorance, obliviousness, or denial at play) is that Microsoft just didn't cut it this year. To me, it just felt like they had a very narrow-minded focus, and a focus that won't really help them at this point in the console wars. Their main focus was obviously the Kinect, as nearly every single game focused on "Kinectability" as I like to call it, and it just didn't seem like they brought anything that new or exciting to the table. Now, don't get me wrong, I do like the technology behind the Kinect, and I think it's cool how it works, but for gaming, I'm just not that sold on it.

Now, since I am obviously a big Nintendo fan, some of you might find that a bit hypocritical, especially since Nintendo was obviously the originator of a fully motion controlled home console, but I feel for the most part, Nintendo has limited that use to the point where it hasn't gotten too overused or repetitive, keeping the heavy use for party games like Wii Sports, the dance games, and Mario Party 8. I mean, look at the most popular Wii games....Super Mario Galaxy, Donkey Kong Country Returns, Animal Crossing: City Folk...those games for the most part aren't fully-motioned controlled. You still move with the control stick (or pad), and the motion controls are really only used for spinning to find star bits, hand pounding the ground, or catching fish. Kinect seems to want you to use motion controls for everything, and that just seems like a bit much, especially for some games. In fact, two games that especially come to mind are Kinect Star Wars and Fable: The Journey. Because of the heavy motion control interface, it feels like those games were demoted to on-rail hacking and slashing games, when they could have been so much more than that. I don't know...it just feels like the whole purpose of Kinect is to overload on motion control as much as they can, when that was never really the intention to begin with, with Nintendo, and with Sony now as well.

And that was pretty much what the entire conference focused on....just that one aspect of the Xbox360. They didn't have a new console or any hardware announcements; just pretty much what they had last year, and that's kind of a shame, especially considering how hard Sony and Nintendo came swinging this year. So yeah, I was just kind of disappointed with Microsoft this year, and that seems to be the general impression of most gamers as well. I will admit that I've never really been that impressed with Microsoft anyway, but right now, this has just given me even more justification to stay that way and has not convinced me to purchase a XBox360 or any games, which is the opposite direction of what I think they should be going for. Who knows, maybe Microsoft will take this year as a lesson and analyze what they need to do to stay in the video game console market and come back next year with a lot more success. But for now, I feel like they just didn't pull off anything that impressive, and I don't think any Halo announcements are ever going to change that.

Sony: Aside from being a PS2 owner and being satisfied with that purchase, I will admit that I'm not much of a Sony person either. However, unlike Microsoft, I felt like Sony actually had a goal and a focus for this year's E3, and overall, they just had a better idea of what they were doing. Before the conference, I had a feeling that Sony was probably going to do the exact opposite of what Microsoft did and instead of overloading PSMove coverage, they would just drop it and not show anything. However, they actually ended up surprising me a little bit, and not only did they have PSMove coverage, I felt like they had just the right amount of coverage. And not only that, I also got the impression that they are only using it to enhance certain gameplay elements, not to overload the game with nothing but motion controls, which I think is a very good thing.

But aside from that, obviously the big news was that Sony is releasing the next Playstation handheld, called Playstation Vita. At this time, I'm still kind of unsure what to think of Vita. I mean, it looks like a neat piece of hardware, and unlike handhelds of the past, will actually provide Nintendo with some competition in the handheld market instead of getting stomped on by the iron foot of the Game Boy and DS, but a part of me is still just not that interested. For the time being though, it does look pretty cool and looks like it will have some sweet software to back it up, so it's at least doing its part in improving on the PSP....not that it was a hard challenge to beat.

Sony did a good job though and I definitely give them major props with what they had to show. I wouldn't say they had anything ground-breaking, but likewise, I can't really say there was anything I didn't like or hated either. Definitely a big improvement from last year, at least in my opinion.

So yeah, that's really all I am going to say about the Microsoft and Sony conferences. I'm sorry if you were expecting a little more, but I'm going to be saving most of my comments and thoughts for a podcast I will be doing soon with Odinspack33 and ShadowMarioXLI. I'll talk more about that on my channel though when the podcast actually goes up, so stay tuned for that!

Anyway, let's move on to Nintendo!

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Nintendo:

3 years ago, Nintendo had a pretty bad conference. 2 years ago, they brought it back together. And last year.....last year was just amazing and was a hard year to beat. Did Nintendo beat it this year though? With the announcement of Project Cafe (aka: Wii U) and with more news on the Nintendo 3DS and Zelda: Skyward Sword, Nintendo had good ground to start with. But what is the verdict? Let's start going through the actual conference from the very beginning to the end.

Zelda: Skyward Sword and Zelda 25th Anniversary - The first part of the show was pretty heavy on Zelda. They talked a little about future releases including Skyward Sword, Ocarina of Time 3D, Link's Awakening for 3DS's eShop, and Four Swords for DSi Ware. They didn't really show much gameplay aside from trailers and the like, but so far, it's a lot of Zelda, which should make a lot of people happy. They also showcased the orchestral music of Skyward Sword and for the 25th Anniversary Celebration, which was pretty cool. However, as I said, it was pretty heavy on Zelda at the beginning there and could have used that time on some of the other games that were shown after the conference.

3DS Titles:

Mario Kart - Mario Kart meets Pilotwings.....why are there hang gliders? XD Ok, the hang gliders were kind of odd at first, but I think Nintendo knows what they are doing and I'm sure things will seem a bit more sensible when the game is shown more. I am excited though because I do love Mario Kart.

Star Fox 64 3D - Not much extra was really shown from last year, but it is interesting to see what they are doing with the multiplayer and how they are using the 3DS camera.

Super Mario 3D - This game is looking really good so far. The platforming looks as impressive as it is in Galaxy, and that's a really good sign. Also...the return of the Tanooki suit......EPIC! =O

Kid Icarus: Uprising - As I said at the end of last year's conference, this title is definitely shaping up to look truly amazing, and I feel pretty much the same right now as well. Interested to see how the multiplayer works as well.

Luigi's Mansion 2 - Biggest software surprise of this year by far. I was definitely not expecting this, but there it was! Interested to see how big this game actually is, since it is apparently not just one mansion, but I am glad to see a new Luigi in production.

Nintendo Wii U:

There were a few other things in the conference before the WiiU closer, but they were very brief and pretty much had to do with the new console anyway. That aside, the Wii U is looking great! It's still fairly early, and even I'm still a little unsure of all the features that will be included, but for now....graphics look great, tremendous 3rd party support, and a very interesting premise when it comes to the controller design, which is perhaps the biggest thing about the Wii U. It seems like Nintendo wants to put a little more emphasis on handheld gaming, with the ability to use the controller like a portable version of the system. I'm sure this will definitely bring out a lot of criticisms from gamers, but in a way, I could almost compare this to what Sony is doing with the PSV, as it also had a similar feature as well. Again though, it is still fairly early, and I am really interested to see how this develops. Also, who is to say that this is the end of the features? I'm sure there will be plenty of more things revealed about the WiiU as time goes on.

2 New Smash Bros. Games - No footage given, but the announcement of 2 new Super Smash Bros. games is something to definitely get excited about! One for the 3DS and one for the WiiU! Perfect! =)

As for the actual conference, it did end at the WiiU, but there were plenty of other game revelations. I'll go over a few of them right now!

Mario Party 9 - Yes guys...I am aware of this, and I have to say that it is about time! And not just for the game either......I was getting a little tired of all the "Will you do Mario Party 9 when it comes out?" comments when there was no confirmation of the game whatsoever. But no...the game is coming, and I couldn't be happier! I watched the trailer and it's looking really good! It seems like there will be a lot of different modes though, as a lot of the footage revolved around all of the characters traveling together in a car across the board, while there were also solo movements as well. It'll be interesting to see how this game develops, but I am looking forward to it!

Kirby Wii and Kirby Mass Attack - Two new kirby games? That's pretty sweet! Especially this soon after Epic Yarn...but I guess that was a different company that worked on it. Anyway, both games look fun, especially the Wii game! There looks to be a lot of very interesting powers, and the ability for 4-player co-op? (that's at least my impression from the trailer) That just makes it sweeter! =P I'm still not sure what to think about the DS game Mass Attack though. I would love to see more, but it looks pretty unique so far. Kinda has an Amazing Mirror type of gameplay, but with more stylus controls....which is definitely interesting.

Paper Mario 3DS and Animal Crossing 3DS - I grouped these two together because they were technically revealed last year, but with no major developments this year....just that they are still in development and with some new screen shots. Both are still looking good and I am definitely looking forward to both of them. Animal Crossing seems to be adding a few new features, which is cool, and Paper Mario looks to have the same, incredible gameplay of the other Paper Mario games and Mario RPGs, so both should definitely be hits. =)

So yeah, those are just some of the things Nintendo is working on! There is obviously a lot more going on that I didn't cover, but again, more is going to be discussed during the E3 podcast when we get around to it. I just wanted to cover a few things for this entry. Overall, I thought Nintendo did great! The focus was obviously a little more on hardware this time around, but I don't think that was necessarily a bad thing, because they still had software regardless. In fact, the software coverage was perhaps on the device that needed it the most, the 3DS. So yeah, things are looking pretty good. Next year we should see a treasure trove of stuff for the WiiU and more exciting things on the 3DS, and Nintendo should continue to be in a great position. Good work Ninty! =)

Things I Think Should Have Been There - Nintendo.....where the hell is Pikmin 3? Are you just teasing us with the game now? =P Haha, the Pikmin 3 info, or rather, lack of info, doesn't really bother me that much, because despite it, they are still giving us some excellent stuff regardless. However, this is the 3rd E3 since they first briefly mentioned it was in production at E3 2008, and besides words, we haven't really seen anything or know anything about it. I know Nintendo probably has their reasons, but I was really looking forward to some answers this year and kind of left a little empty-handed. E3 technically isn't over yet, so something could still come out of left field, but if Nintendo really wanted to make a splash, I think Pikmin 3 could have created waves. Also, it's been awhile since we have heard anything from F-Zero, Star Fox, and Fire Emblem (just to name a few) as well. I mean, Star Fox has the 64 remake, and Fire Emblem is working on a remake of the 3rd Japanese game for America as well, but I'm talking original games here....and there has been a bit of a drought. I'm sure we'll hear something eventually, but still, an announcement of some of these calibers could have taken Nintendo above and beyond! Just my opinion....

But yeah, that's really all I have to say about E3! Keep in mind, these are just my opinions, and if you guys want to share yours, go ahead! Also, stay tuned to my channel for an update on the podcast I'll be doing for more information!

Friday, May 13, 2011

Hey guys, I have a short, quick update for you in regards to the blog.

As you guys know, it has been awhile since my last entry. In fact...this may be the longest hiatus I've had in the history of this blog's existence. I do apologize for this absence, but understand that for the most part, it hasn't been been unwarranted.

I did just finish my Spring semester of college about 2 weeks ago, and I was quite busy because of that semester. Even though this semester was probably my best semester in the four years I've been attending college, it was still quite a lot to take in terms of the class work. A three-month term paper, lots and lots of computer programming assignments (including languages I've never worked with before), busy-work out the whazoo, and an Algorithms class...which alone took up much of my free time as it was.....yeah, it wasn't exactly easy dealing with all of that. But in a way, I'm glad I put so much of my focus into my studies this semester, because I got an amazing GPA out of it. Unfortunately though, it did cause me to hit other things to much lesser extent, including my Youtube projects, as it pretty much forced me to stop doing daily updates (which is in theory, fine, because my videos can be twice as long as they were a year ago anyway, so a 1 day update is about 2 days worth of content back then), and of course this blog, which just seemed pointless to update when I barely had anything interesting to say regardless, and when all of my updates are on my channel and twitter anyway.

So yeah, that explains about a month and a half of my 2 month absence...but what about these last two weeks? I've gotten time to myself....I don't have a leaving-home job....there is no real excuse for me not to be updating this....right? Well, I actually agree with you guys here, because there is no excuse to why I haven't been updating. I mean, I guess I could say that since I am trying to do daily updates again, that it has taken a lot of my time away, but I reserve 3 days during every week to do recording, one for each of my 3 projects, and even then, that doesn't take a large part of my time, plus I have the other 4 days too. There have been other things as well, taking care of my dog while my parents are still working, spending time with my family in general, helping around the house when needed....but still, that doesn't require around-the-clock attention either. So what exactly could be my reason?

In all honesty, I just don't really have that much to talk about right now. Point blank, I think that's the only reason. First I give myself deadlines, but the deadlines only make me stressed to come up with anything to talk about. I take away the deadlines, and then I just leave it alone and don't do anything with it for several months. The only thing I can really think of to try is to find a balance of the two. You know, where I give myself a goal or a deadline, and if I somehow don't make it, it won't be a big deal and I can either talk to a very little extent, or just not worry about the entry at all and then just set the next deadline...or something like that. The only problem with that though is I'm still kind of opening myself up to either of the two, earlier mentioned scenarios. After all, I'm still giving myself deadlines on one-hand, and still a lot of flexibility on the other. I guess when it comes down to it, you can't really have a balance for something like a blog....it all kind of depends on the individual effort.

So I dunno, I guess the main reason why I'm making this update today is that I just wanted to give you guys an update on what's going on in this front, or rather, what isn't going on. I'm still trying to modify my plans for the blog and trying to figure out how I want to go about working on this. Because that's something else.....despite what it seems, I do want to use this blog in some way, and I don't just want to mark it as a failure and move on from it. I would like to use this again....I just need to figure out how I should go about doing that.

During the summer, I will try to get a few updates out there. E3 is coming up, and since Mario Party 8 is almost over, I'll need a place to discuss the event and all of the stuff Nintendo is coming out with, so you can definitely expect an update on that front. Not only that, but I do have a lot of big projects coming soon as well on my Youtube channel, so you can expect some inside information there as well. But for now, I'll try to aim for an entry before the end of May. I think that sounds like a fair, and make-able deal.

Otherwise, I think that's all I really wanted to say. Thanks for listening, and I'll see you guys later!

Friday, March 18, 2011

Wow, it's been awhile since I've made an update on here, hasn't it? I honestly didn't even realize how long this wait has been until MadameWario made her most recent blog entry, and that's when I realized, "Hmmmm, that's right, I have a blog too." All in all, it's not a big deal though I guess. After all, in my last entry, I even said that I would only be updating with unscheduled, informal entries from now on, just so whenever I did write, I wouldn't feel pressured to get something up by a deadline and that way I could also talk about other things instead of having nothing to talk about. So instead of spending an entire paragraph apologizing (although I have already spent an entire paragraph justifying my absence X_X), let's get right into it.

Currently I am in my 8th/9th week of my 8th semester of college, and so far, it's actually been going pretty well. I actually feel like I'm doing well in my classes, and for the first time in the last 4 years, I'm actually happy with how things are going at my university. I still don't want to be here, but at least I'm not depressed while not wanting to be here. =P The way things are going now, I will still have another year to spend here (1/2 the year on campus, the other 1/2 commuting because I'll only have 2 or 3 classes), which does kind of suck because I'll be a 5-year graduate instead of a 4-year, but for a college student, and one that has changed his major twice, that's actually pretty good. Just have to keep my grades up and stay on this high, and I'll have that bachelor's degree in no time! =P

In the gaming world, I can't really say too much at this point, but the release of the Nintendo 3DS is just around the corner! To be quite honest, I actually didn't pre-order the handheld, and will be testing my stupid luck to see if I can maybe pick it up at launch (or a few weeks after launch). I know I am probably not being smart about this purchase, especially considering how epic the Nintendo Wii launch was, but I don't know......the part of my state where I live (technically both parts...my home and college), just doesn't embrace video games as much as the rest of the world, and generally, I have very little issue getting anything on launch date anyway. Not only that, I'm not really even sure I want the 3DS on launch just because there aren't any big games just yet. The only launch game I'm even remotely excited about is Pilotwings Resort, and even then, I don't expect that game to hold me over for THAT long. I might wait until some other big name games come out first, but I guess even then, it's still too early to tell. I will say though, for once, money is not and will never be an issue for me and games anymore....although that's a story for another day....or never. >=)

I did pick up Pokemon Black though and have been spending a great deal of time with it. So far, it's actually a pretty sweet game. It's given me frustrations, but it's also given me some good times as well. It definitely has its own charm despite not changing too much in Pokemon formula, which I do give it a lot of credit for. A lot of people I know criticize the game for not being very different from its predecessors, and make it seem like every new game is just a dump of 100+ more Pokemon, but really, you can't blame Pokemon too much for that. It just seems to have a case of the "Simpsons Did It" curse, where eventually it just gets to the point where they are digging way too deep for ideas and usually end either up going in a very weird direction, or just end up slightly re-factoring an idea that's already been done. It doesn't mean it's bad or anything, rather originality is just a little harder to come by, and sometimes when it is, it's a rather strange originality. One thing I can definitely give this generation props for is the story, because the story is rather unique in it's own way, especially when compared to the other generations. But yeah, that's my take so far on Pokemon B/W.

As for other games, I can honestly say that I haven't really been playing much besides that. If anything, I've been trying to go back through older games, mainly for nostalgia, and also I've been trying to think of some future LP ideas as well. I recently finished completing my Virtual Console copy of Mario Party 2, unlocking every mini-game and beating the dreaded Mini-Game Coaster on all 3 difficulty levels.....which was a challenge, to say the least....mainly due to controls actually. I've also been trying to finish up a Hard Mode playthrough of Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, which I kind of stopped just because it got to the point of somewhat tedium. Not because of it being difficult or anything. It's just that the chapters take a lot longer and they are already pretty long chapters. Also I am a very bad multi-tasker, which is relevant because I for some reason kept trying to do other things whenever I would play the game. X_X

And I guess with that, I can start getting into Youtube stuff. Well, since I last left you guys, I finished up New Super Mario Bros. Wii, and started a new project, "Mystical Ninja: Starring Goemon," which has generally been getting a really positive reception from people. In fact, at the top of my head, I honestly can't think of any negative feedback on the game thus far, which I guess is a good sign. I should also be starting Mario Party 8 very soon and I have a lot of big ideas for the future (moreso than I did 2 months ago), so yeah, things are going pretty well. I'm also about to hit 40,000 subscribers as well, so thanks to all of you for making that possible! =) I don't have much to report from CrystalStarStudio or The Blargg Pit at this time, but keep your eyes peeled as I'm sure we will have a lot of interesting stuff coming up soon!

Anyways, I think that's about all I need to report on, so I'll talk to you guys later! Hope you guys had a great Spring Break for those who had it already, and if you haven't, hope you have a good one when it comes up. Not sure how long the wait for the next entry will be, but I'll try to make it sooner than the last one (no promises though).

Thursday, January 20, 2011

It's been awhile hasn't it? Almost 3 weeks in fact, but nonetheless, here I am for another blog entry, and for what is technically my 100th entry. Last time, I got a little deep about the future of this blog and if there was any possibility of me continuing it after some pretty major doubts. I have been doing a lot of thinking, like I said I would, and I'm still just honestly not sure about the direction of where to take this. So I decided that for the time being, I just wouldn't worry about it and focus on doing informal, unplanned entries for awhile, because honestly, isn't that what a blog should be about? Well, in my opinion it should be, so that's what I'm going to do. Who knows, this may actually allow me more time to think about where I want to take this and get me excited about updating again! So yeah, basically, just don't expect an entry every week, and I'll do my part in trying to get something out every now and then. Also, don't be surprised if some of my entries end up being progress reports for my channel, because while some of you probably get enough of that on my channel as it is, that's really the biggest thing going on in my life at this point, which will seem kind of sad to some of you, but when you look at my fanbase, and the benefits I'm getting.....it's a lot more important than you would think. But anyway, enough rambling, that is going to be the plan.

So what has happened since I'm gone? Well....I had a really great Holiday season, as I think I mentioned during my last entry, but I'm going to put emphasis on that again just because it really was a great Holiday, definitely the greatest one I've had for awhile. I got to see a lot of family and friends (mostly family because most of my friends decided to pull a little vanishing act on me...jerks), I got a lot of new gifts and games, and just had a very good time in general. And also (and I'm sure several people are going to freak out about this), I even got to meet MadameWario face-to-face for the first time! And yes, she's just as fierce and pimptastic as she is in real life. =P So yeah, it was a really good break......and it's kind of a shame that it's over already. =(

But yes, I am once again back in school again for my 8th (and unfortunately, not final) semester of college classes! This semester might actually end up being a little easier than my last two, just because of the nature of some of my professors, which I guess is a good thing, but it still might be a bit too early to tell. All of my classes are pretty much morning classes, which gives me a lot of time to goof off in the afternoon and still get some work done on assignments or video projects if I need to. I have an 8 AM class (which may not seem bad to high school students, but trust me, 8 AM is like the equivalent of 5 AM for college students), followed by a two hour block of two classes from 10 - 12 on 3 of the 5 days of the week....something I'm still trying to get used to, but I'm sure I will in the coming weeks. To me, college has always been pretty formulaic, in that once you get a routine going, as long as you stick to that routine, you are pretty much setting yourself up for success every time. The earlier you learn that, the better off you will be.

This Christmas, along with my brand new laptop which I bragged about a few entries ago, I did get quite a few different games, consisting of Samurai Warriors 3, Goldeneye 007 (Wii), Epic Mickey, Zelda: Four Swords Adventure, Advance Wars Dual Strike and Days of Ruin, and a few games on Virtual Console (some of which were actually gifts from other Youtube users and LPers! ;)) I really only got the first 3 as gifts, as the other ones were actually GameStop purchases, but I technically used a lot of the money I got for the Holiday on those games regardless. I haven't touched very many of these games yet (just not have had the time, plus when I have, I've been way too obsessed with Samurai Warriors 3 to play anything else), but I'm sure I'll get them played and I'm sure I will talk about them as well.

I also had my all-day stream of Kirby games about 2 1/2 weeks ago, which for the most part went pretty well, aside from UStream failing on me in a number of different ways (the biggest being destroying most of my recordings of the stream X_X). I guess the biggest thing I can take from the stream event is the realization that I need to plan streams better in the sense of being prepared for the games I'm doing and not biting off more than I can chew, and also that UStream is not an efficient website for streaming. Live and Learn I guess......

As far as Youtube stuff is concerned, I guess things are going well. I'm still not completely ready to start recording with my new set-up, so I've been spending the last few weeks on recordings I've been able to get done while I was at home. Kirby's Dream Course finished up last week, and thank God am I relieved. Again, it's not that I hated the project..it was just a lot more difficult than I thought it would be (and I already knew it was a pretty difficult game). I probably should have done the playthrough on an emulator, because in the way I handled it, I spent more time overall on failed attempts than I did successful attempts, and that didn't really help me one bit. Mario Party 7 is starting to wrap up, and at this point I have all of the videos recorded, so it's not like there is anything major preventing me from finishing up that project. I just want to drag it on (although that's putting that in such a negative way) for a little bit so I don't finish that too quickly and then as a result, also finish Mario Bros. Wii too quickly. I technically know what my next project is going to be at this point, so it's not like I have no idea of what to do afterwards, or anything like that, but this is definitely the most tapped out I've been on ideas, so I am definitely trying to keep an easy flow going as I try to come up with some other ideas. And lastly, there is New Super Mario Bros. Wii, perhaps the project I am the most satisfied with at this point. I'm actually moving through the game a lot faster than I expected to, even with the larger time limit, and for the most part, I think it has been moving along pretty well, and going along well with my audiences. I think it was definitely a great project to start the year with (even though it did start in the 2nd half of December). That project should finish up sometime in February.

Also in other Youtube-related news, things have started up again on CrystalStarStudio with 2 new projects, a 3rd on the way, the concluding videos of TTYD, and then some other great stuff to follow suit. The project I am involved in still won't be starting for a few weeks (still trying to work out all of kinks), but it will be here eventually.

There has been a lot going on recently, and there is so much else I could discuss as well, but I know you guys can only listen to me ramble on for so long, so I think I'm going to try and end it here. So yeah, this is how you can expect the blog to be from now on; all updates will be informal and independent of a common format, and they will all be unscheduled and unplanned (I will try to announce on twitter and/or my channel page when I do have an entry though, so don't worry about checking here all the time). And basically, yeah, that's how you can expect things from now on, or at least for a little while. I may decide to get back on a common format and schedule eventually, but for now, it's not something I will worry about.

I guess that's about it. I will talk to you guys later and see you around Youtube! Take it easy! Later folks!

Monday, January 3, 2011

As you may have noticed, I haven't been doing very much updating as of late. Last you heard from me was the weekend before Christmas, and it's already a few days into the new year, so first off, I hope you guys have had a wonderful holiday season and happy new year celebration like I did! =)

Now, getting on to the main point of this entry; my lack of updating on this front.

Some of you have probably already realized the reason for my lack of updating (or for those who don't like this justification, my excuse for not updating) stems from the fact that I have been pretty busy as of late keeping up with family, friends, and all of that other general holiday stuff. And for the most part, that is true, but I can't honestly say that is the only reason.

I'm not sure how evident it has been in recent entries, but I've just been getting a bit tired of doing a new entry for this blog every week. It's slowly starting to become more of a chore than an activity I like doing (which is how it started), and if it is becoming THAT much of a burden, I really don't think I should do it anymore, or as often. I've always been under the belief that negative feelings of an activity often contribute to poor performance on that particular activity, and I don't really think my blog, or my readers deserve a half-baked entry every week of me saying, "Oh god this week was busy" and "ZOMG! ZOMG! YOUTUBE PROJECTS!" I honestly just don't have that much to talk about, and when I do, I take care of it in my videos or through other media. The only reason I kept with the blog for so long was when I was doing my daily updates back during my Let's Play of The Simpsons: Hit and Run, I legitimately enjoyed doing it, which is why I updated every day. After a few weeks of that, I felt burnt out again, so I switched to weekly updates, and not even 1/2 of a year through that, I was already starting to update late and sometimes just not at all. I'm not sure if this means I should switch to every 2 or 3 weeks, or even monthly updates, but it honestly feels like no matter what, even that would be shortly lived.

Now, don't get me wrong, I do like keeping the blog and if I can make it work, I will definitely do everything I can to keep it moving, but at this point, it feels like I'm more forced to write it rather than just doing it myself, which is not what a blog should feel like. So yeah, that is the dilemma, and where I go from here....I'm not exactly sure.

So here's the deal, I'm going to give myself a few more days (or weeks) to think about everything, and I'll see if I can maybe figure something out. If I determine that the blog might be something worth keeping, then I'll try my best to keep it going at my own pace (but it will not be a weekly pace, I assure you (unless that is what will work best, but eh...whatever)). If not, I'll probably wait til the very least, my 100th entry (this is technically entry #99, but I won't count this as part of the count) and then close it up for a little while until I feel like brining it back again.

Thanks for understanding guys, if you did. If not, oh well, I can't please everyone. Thank you for your time, and I will talk to you guys later.

Monday, December 20, 2010

First off, big apologies for not being able to update last week, but I really needed that time to study for finals. And then I also missed my update yesterday just because I had some other things going on. However, I did find some time to update tonight, so I figured I would, even if it will probably end up being a small one.

So I am finally on my Winter Break, and my god am I thrilled to be. That last semester of mine seriously never wanted to end. But thankfully I can look past it now and try to regroup. As for my grades, I don't expect very much or really any high marks, but I have a pretty solid cumulative GPA right now, and if I just get my act together, the blunders I made this semester shouldn't impact it very much.

Also some recent things to note, I have officially ordered my new laptop and should be getting it sometime after Christmas. For the time being I can manage recording on my "stay-at-home" desktop, but soon I should be back in action in terms of where I was a month and a half ago. But anyway, I'm going to be getting an HP Core i7 (which was quite pricey...but I didn't have any major requests for Christmas, which kind of justifies it (plus this is something I actually need)), and I am very much looking forward to getting it. =D

Besides that though, I don't have too much to report. I've basically been trying to take it easy these last few days before things start getting crazy with the activity and family get-togethers. Christmas is that time of year after all! =P

Anyways, moving on to Youtube stuff.....hooray for being completely back in action! Not only did I resume progress in both Kirby's Dream Course and Mario Party 7, I also added a new project to my list, that game being New Super Mario Bros. Wii, a game that I have actually done an online project for, but just not on Youtube. It feels good to be back in the swing of things, but let's hope that the "3 PROJECTS" don't hold me down too much. =P

Ok, so first off, for the first time in a month and a half, I can talk about Mario Party! The board I did this weekend was Neon Heights, a board, as I mentioned, that is far from my favorite, just because of the luck-based nature. Yeah, it seems kind of contradictory to hate on a board for something like that because so much of the game is luck-based already, but the board mechanic just adds that much more to it. I mean, from the beginning of the playthrough, I think that was pretty evident by the fact that I had such a hard time getting a star at first despite having quite a bit of coins, and the computer players seemed to get to them no problem. This is especially made true by the fact that the star is technically only worth 10 coins, and even if you get the wrong chest, you still have a 1 in 2 chance of getting those coins back with an additional 10 on top of it, and if not, well, that bob-omb just ends up screwing things up too. =P But nonetheless, I stayed pretty much at the top in terms of coin count, and that ended up working quite well for me. And it also helped that I was a demon when it came to the mini-games. >=D And I know I made such a big deal out of it, but man, I was glad that the bonus stars couldn't decide the outcome, because it was kind of lame how the 3 bonus stars I would have won weren't even up as options and the fact that Daisy got the 3 that were offered. If I didn't have more coins than she, I would have been in trouble. =P But in the end, I got a rightfully deserved victory, and I guess that is all that matters. Oh and lol @ Magmagical Journey happening in the same turn right after one another.

As for Kirby's Dream Course, things are going ok I guess. At this point I have more than half of the project recorded and I should be done before break...or at least that is the hope. If not, I'll be finishing just as I return back to college. Despite some criticisms on the commentary (or rather the idea that people can't understand that my voice has a natural monotone to it that I can't control), I'd say the project is going along well.

And yesterday, or technically today because it was updated at midnight..... although yesterday might be more appropriate since this blog probably won't be read til after this coming midnight......bah, technicalities.....the point is, I started New Super Mario Bros. Wii in my last video! I will admit, at first I was kind of unsure about the game as I was filming the episodes, but after I got done and started putting them together.....I dunno, it started to grow on me a little bit, and this should be a pretty fun project. Although the one thing I will say...never announce in a Let's Play how familiar you are with a game...the commenters will go after you on every little thing. I think one of the things I said in the first video was, "I know this game decently well," (which I think is true), but everyone interpreted that as, "I KNOW EVERYTHINGZ, I R MASTER, GIVE ME MONEYZ!" and everytime I said the slightest thing wrong, or missed something, it's almost like I violated one of the 10 Commandments. I mean, the people that do that are stupid, so it shouldn't bother me, and don't get me wrong, the idiotic comments don't bother me at all....but I am seriously concerned with the intelligence of most Youtube users. I really hate saying that, but come on, is it really that hard to use your brain or common sense to such a small degree? Is it? I guess not.....

Anyways, that is what is new in Youtube for me, so I hope you guys enjoy all the projects I have for you throughout this Winter Break, and hopefully you guys will be able to see nothing but daily updates from me from now on! =)

Once again, while I have finished Donkey Kong Country Returns at this point, I still don't feel comfortable enough talking about it, so once again I am putting that review on hold. And because of that, I think that about does it for this entry! Thanks for joining me this week and I'll see you next week for more bloggish excitement....unless I decide not to update due to Christmas and my 22nd Birthday! =)

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Hello everybody, SlimKirby here, and welcome to another weekly blog entry. The month of December has finally began and the first snows of the season have already been upon us, or at least for me anyways. Not only that, but at this point I only have about 10 days left here at my university for my fall semester, so I am really looking forward to being done with the freaking semester that has tried so hard to get the best of me. Oh well, it’s almost over now and I can seriously see the light at the end of the tunnel. I just have to get past this difficult week and then make it through a week of finals, and then I’m done. Anyways, let’s get to talks about stuffs.

First off, I will say that I do have my laptop back now. Unfortunately, the changes made to it to get it to work got rid of any ability or capability for the machine to record anything, so I can no longer make videos at this time. However, this does not mean I’m necessarily “out of commission” until I get a new one. I still have videos ready for this coming week and then unfortunately I will have to take another small break (for just a week) when I won’t have any videos at all, but after that week I should have the capability to record again before I actually get my new laptop. I’ll basically be recording in the same fashion that I recorded my first Kirby’s Dream Course videos, but this time I’ll actually have a TV screen to look at while I’m playing and not just the stupid Windows Movie Maker window, which I refuse to use to play Mario Party 7 and my next playthrough.

Speaking of Youtube stuff…..HOORAY FOR UPDATES THIS WEEK! I can’t believe I’m actually saying this, but it actually felt good to make updates again. Of course they weren’t daily updates or anything like that, but still, it felt like that small part of my life that vanished for a few weeks had finally returned to me. I only hope the return was enough of an impact for the viewing public, which from the reception, I’d say it was at least good enough.

So let’s get started talking about Kirby’s Dream Course. This was a game that I really wanted to do for awhile, and for the longest time I was juggling my thoughts together about whether or not I wanted to do this game or either Super Bomberman 3 or The Adventures of Lolo 3. Of the three games, I knew this game was going to be the biggest challenge because Super Bomberman 3 is actually pretty damn easy, and Lolo 3, despite how challenging the series actually is, I think for a Let’s Play it actually is a pretty sensible choice and a game that’s relatively easy to handle. All you need to do is just record yourself playing through, cut out footage if you really need to, and WHAM, you have yourself a video. Kirby’s Dream Course, while really anti-climatic for a casual Let’s Play, if you want to do an all-gold medal playthrough like I am doing, you’re going to be in for quite a storm if you aren’t an expert player. I am of course not an expert player, but I think I’m good enough to at least handle the expert-leveled challenge that the game offers. I knew from the beginning that I would 1) have to play the courses multiple times, 2) make plenty of footage cuts until I got everything right, and 3) practice and do my research on game mechanics to get the best performance possible. Since I am not working with an emulator on this Let’s Play, save states were out of the question and I’d have to get the gold medals based on personal skill alone. I actually almost considered making the move to an emulator during the final weeks leading up to this Let’s Play, but then my computer went “kah-put” (or however you spell that) and forced me to use my Virtual Console copy instead. In the end though, I don’t think game was a bad choice, I just knew that I was going to be in for a lot.

The first recordings of this game were actually pretty “interesting,” and I’m not sure if I mean in a good way or a bad way. I wouldn’t say they were “catastrophic,” necessarily, but they were pretty far from easy-going…that’s for sure. The first recording, I really didn’t mind how that turned out just because it was the first video, and no first video is truly that perfect. I just figured I would cover the basics, do what I could to get a good score, and if I didn’t succeed, I could easily just try again and knock it out of the park, which is pretty much how that worked. The 2nd video/course was a little more strenuous, just because of that stupid recording glitch which caused me to redo that entire course. The 3rd was ok, but I had to replay that so many times due to small, stupid mistakes that I really shouldn’t have made. The following 3 videos, which I also recorded at around the same time, and which will also be released on my channel this coming week, were pretty much the same story. I got them done, but they could have been smoother for me. I’m really hoping the recording set-up that I’ll be using when I return home will be so much more beneficial for me, because it seems like my timing is just a bit off when I was playing the game for my finished videos. Oh well, I guess it’s just something we will have to wait and see what happens. For now though, I hope you guys enjoy.

As for Mario Party 7, I feel so bad that I haven’t been able to update this project, just because the first half of the Party Mode playthrough went pretty well for me. I did have that stupid loss at Pyramid Park, but even that went well considering. It really sucks that I had to put this on such a long hiatus, especially since at this point I actually would have been finished with Party Mode by now. Looks like the extra videos and even Party Mode itself will be going on til the first weeks of 2011.

As I briefly mentioned earlier in the blog, I actually had another playthrough planned for the month of December. However, due to how cruel nature can be to a Kirby with sunglasses, that project is also going to be significantly delayed quite a bit. At this point I was honestly hoping to have started the project as I finished Mario Party 7 and as I was closing out Dream Course, but now it looks I’ll be smack dab in the middle of both at this project’s beginning. It really, really does suck, I will admit, but that’s the price you pay when you go about 3 weeks of no updating, 2 weeks of light updating, and then another week of no activity. Again, just for emphasis, it sucks, but you really can’t control these things. In a perfect world, my Computer Tech people would be geniuses that could fix any problem simply by touching the screen, instead of taking it apart and having it at the mercy of their cold-hearted souls. In the end though, I still plan to release this project, whatever it is, around the week of Christmas, so I hope you guys enjoy it when that time comes (and yes, once again, keeping the project in the dark. ;)).

I could talk about a few other things, like CSS or the Kirby’s Stream Land stream I talked about during my 20,000 Subscriber special, but honestly, these are things that I just can’t address at this time because there is honestly just too much going on and the future is just uncertain. I’ll try to keep you guys updated as much as possible.

Also, this is going to be a short entry just because I’m really, really, really busy at this time. Plus I haven’t exactly made any progress on Donkey Kong Country Returns so I’m not ready to talk more about that yet. So without further adieu, I’m going to close the blog entry up here and talk to you guys next week! See you then!